The family of missing pilot David Ibbotson say they are overwhelmed with the support they have received since the plane he was flying crashed in the English Channel.

Almost £250,000 has been raised to help fund a new search for Mr Ibbotson's body, with a 5k run held yesterday morning adding to the total as a community came together.

Mr Ibbotson, from Crowle, was at the controls of a Piper Malibu aircraft which was carrying Cardiff City footballer Emiliano Sala from the French city of Nantes to Wales when it disappeared on Monday, January 21.

The Argentinian striker's body was recovered after being found in the wreckage of the plane as part of a private search operation and thousands of people have made donations towards funding a search for Mr Ibbotson's body after an online appeal by his family.

That search is expected to begin in the coming days and wil be led by David Mearns, the marine scientist who found the aircraft wreckage 21 miles off the coast of Guernsey.

The 5k run, organised by Mr Ibbotson's great niece Natasha Thompson, saw supporters turn out to complete 10 laps of a course around Epworth Showground.

Natasha Thompson, who organised the 5k run, is pictured with her boyfriend Sam Norton (Image: David Haber/Scunthorpe Live)

Speaking to Scunthorpe Live at the event, Mr Ibbotson's daughter Danielle said: "It's really overwhelming, the amount of people who are here, even people we don't know.

"They are all trying to do their best for us, so it is incredible what Natasha has done and it is fantastic.

"It does give you the comfort that people are thinking of you and wanting to help you as much as possible, which is lovely."

Mr Ibbotson, an experienced private pilot, grew up in Grimsby and ran his own gas engineering and plumbing business in Crowle.

After the accident on January 21, a number of heartfelt tributes to him were left at a memorial in Crowle's Market Place, with dozens of messages left alongside flowers, candles and a Cardiff City scarf.

Danielle praised the community spirit of people in the area and said the run was another example of people coming together to show their support, with a further fundraising event at the Oakley Equestrian Centre in Crowle planned for March 24, where showjumping classes will be held.

Danielle Ibbotson, pictured at the fundraising 5k run with Harry Baisley, who was the first runner to finish (Image: David Haber/Scunthorpe Live)

She said: "It doesn't matter who you are, people want to show their help and support. I don't know a lot of the folks who are running but they are all smiling and trying their best, so I can't thank them enough."

"We are over the moon because that was our main aim, to ensure we can do our best to try and find him, bring him home and lay him to rest.

"We are still hopeful that we are going to find him."

Event organiser Natasha, 21, from Scunthorpe, said she estimated around 60 people took part in the 5k run, which surpassed her expectations.

She said: "I thought there would be a lot less but the word has got around, definitely. I am very pleased with how it has gone.

"It has brought the community together. I just hope to get as much money raised as possible."

David Ibbotson (right) and Emiliano Sala

Describing the time since the aircraft disappeared, Natasha said: "It has been absolutely horrific. We have all come together, all supported each other and we are just trying to do everything and anything we can to try and bring him home."

And speaking of the support the family has had from the community, she said: "There are no words for it at all. It just proves that with people, you don't have to know them for them to help and everybody has done their bit.

"It is quite overwhelming that everybody has done that. It was surprising how well it has turned out this morning. Everybody seems to be enjoying themselves and it is not something to be sad about, we have come here to do our best to raise as much as we can."